USGS IN YOUR STATE

U.S. Geological Survey hydrographer measuring streamflow at Wheeler Creek.
He is holding a wading rod that has a current meter attached to it. The
current meter is used to measure water velocity at various vertical depths.
The hydrographer makes these measurements at a number of locations
horizontally across the stream and from these measurements can produce a
value of streamflow in cubic feet per second.

Credit: USGS

Wheeler Creek at Bill Cheek Rd. Stream stage was 3 feet, corresponding to
about 120 cubic feet per second (cfs). These small tributary streams,
typically are ungaged and rise and fall quickly during storms so, it is
important to measure streamflow at these sites during flooding. A
streamflow of 120 cfs puts this measurement in the top 10 flows for the
period of record for this site.